I have a lot of Bleach ships, and too many for me to list here! I might make a part 2 in the future, but for now, here is a list of my ten favourite Bleach ships, just as a way for everyone to get to know me. Let’s start with number 10!
10) AiShin (Aizen x Shinji)
Oh, the dynamics between these two! I’m not gonna lie, there is something quite appealing about this ship, but I can’t really explain what it is. Is it the implication that Aizen actually likes Shinji? Is it simply because they just look good together? I honestly don’t know, but I will admit that I like to ship them sometimes.
9) AiIchi (Aizen x Ichigo)
This ship is a guilty pleasure for me, honestly. Again, I can’t really explain why exactly I ship these two, but it just is quite appealing for me. I’ll admit, I also saw some fanart of these two that were quite beautiful and before I knew it, I found myself shipping this in addition to the many other ships I have. But yeah, guilty pleasure.
8) ByaHime (Byakuya x Orihime)
I’ll bet this one is a surprise, isn’t it? Yes, I actually do ship Byakuya and Orihime together sometimes. There’s something so adorable about cold and aloof Byakuya being shipped together with the sweet and cute Orihime, and some fanfictions have definitely helped in my view of this ship! Sure, Orihime may be a bit too quirky, but I can totally see Byakuya slowly growing fond of her and her growing fond of him too. So yeah, I like this ship as well.
7) RenIchi (Renji x Ichigo)
These two are quite shippy in both canon and in the anime fillers, so is it any wonder that I ship them? I already have a headcanon that Ichigo has a small crush on Renji and looks up to him a little bit, and that gradually evolves from an admittedly-adorable crush to a romantic relationship. They’re both strong-willed, incredibly loyal, and they’re total sweethearts despite looking like punks who could kill you. So I definitely ship them a lot!
6) RoseKira (Rose x Kira)
This is such a rare ship but I still love it quite a bit, honestly. I mean, we have Kira, who has been reduced to a shell of his former self from his years serving under Gin, who abused him both mentally and psychologically. Then we have Rose, who is trying to rebuild his former squad after they’ve been shattered by Gin’s betrayal. I can see Rose trying to build a tentative friendship with Kira and gradually getting him to trust him and open up a little, and while Kira is a little reluctant, he slowly starts to trust him again and eventually they fall in love with one another. I do wish this ship had more shippers, I’d love to see more works about the two of them falling in love!
5) IshiNemu (Ishida x Nemu)
Remember back in the Soul Society Arc, when Nemu offered Ishida some antidote for poison after his taxing fight against Kurotsuchi Mayuri? Remember how horrified Ishida was to see Nemu getting kicked around by her own captain and father? For me, this was the beginning of something beautiful. I really adore this ship because both Ishida and Nemu have a few things in common: they both have not-so-good relationships with their fathers, they’re both quite loyal, and they’re both dedicated. And besides, Ishida would be the sweetest boyfriend to Nemu: making her lots of new clothes, taking her out on romantic dates... just imagine it. It’s really sweet.
4) IchiIshi (Ichigo x Ishida)
Yes, I totally ship these two as well. For all of Ishida’s talk about how Quincy and Shinigami are enemies and how he refuses to be associated with the Shinigami, he does not hesitate to get involved and help Ichigo out. And they both have some things in common: they’re loyal, they’ve both lost their moms, and they’d go to hell and back for their friends. Not to mention, they care about each other much more than they’d like to admit, so they just need to hurry up and get together already.
3) RukiHime (Rukia x Orihime)
I adore these two together. Who needs girl hate and rivalry over the same guy when they can just be totally adorable together? Besides, it’s already canon that Rukia and Orihime care about each other quite a bit; hell, Rukia is the one who tells Orihime that she is strong and that she is important! And besides, Rukia literally crawled through her own blood trying to save Orihime. If that’s not shippy, then I don’t know what else it can be. So forget all the Orihime-bashing and Rukia-bashing; let’s let our girls love each other!
2) IchiHime (Ichigo x Orihime)
I know I might lose followers for this, but I absolutely love Ichihime (of course, not as much as my number one ship, but definitely a lot). Ichigo definitely cares a lot about Orihime, and Orihime has always loved Ichigo even before he gained his Shinigami powers. In fact, that moment when Ichigo literally came back to life to protect Orihime when he heard her crying out for him, that just sealed it for me. But there’s also the fact that Ichigo always becomes softer whenever he sees Orihime, he never scowls or frowns around her unless she’s in danger, and there’s also how Orihime is always so reassuring of Ichigo. They complement each other in their own ways and bring out the best in each other, and I’ll never grow tired of seeing them together.
1) ByaRen/RenBya (Renji x Byakuya)
Yes, this is my all-time favourite ship in Bleach. Funny thing, because I always like imagining angsty scenarios for them (then again, I’m a masochist, lol). I’ve always been a sucker for class-difference romances, so this isn’t too big of a surprise for me. I’ve always liked the image of high-class Byakuya falling in love with poor boy Renji, but there’s also the dynamics between them. Not just the class difference, but the fact that Byakuya is a captain and Renji is his lieutenant, so there is a power imbalance, for sure. Even then, Renji is everything that Byakuya needs; he’s passionate, loyal, caring, and a total sweetheart. The fateful hospital scene is what made me start shipping it, honestly, because it really establishes Renji’s loyalty to Byakuya and that he was willing to try and build a proper relationship with him as superior and subordinate. Sure, I think there were some rough patches for the both of them, mainly with Renji still being a little upset about being pinned to the spot with Kido before being nearly sliced and diced by Byakuya’s Bankai while Byakuya feels guilt for how he’d treated Renji up until then, but things worked out in the end and it eventually blossomed into a beautiful romance. Yeah, I’m kind of a romantic at heart.
